1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a litter retrieving device and in particular to a litter retrieving device which is especially adapted for restraining and retrieving containers and also for retrieving flat articles in a very simple and efficient manner without the use of moving parts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Litter retrieving devices, of relatively complex construction, that is, including telescoping shaft members and manually actuated pick-up tools, such as tongs or gripping fingers and pointed rods or spikes, are known in the art. Examples of such devices are disclosed in the following patents:
Gauntlett -- U.S. Pat. No. 830,061 -- Sept. 4, 1906 PA1 Happ -- U.S. Pat. No. 3,105,715 -- Oct. 1, 1963 PA1 Foust -- U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,143 -- Mar. 25, 1975 PA1 Bissitt -- U.S. Pat. No. 2,794,667 -- June 4, 1957 PA1 Browne -- U.S. Pat. No. 2,989,334 -- June 20, 1961 PA1 Moore -- U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,660 -- Jan. 23, 1973
Browne discloses a bottle and can lifter which grips a can as opposed to puncturing it. Also disclosed is a retractable rod having a pointed lower end, but the pointed end is not used in conjunction with the can gripping member.
Bissitt discloses a paper retrieving device having two modes of operation; one for retrieving paper from a soft surface and another for retrieving paper from a hard surface, such as concrete. In the first mode of operation a double sleeve is released and moved upwardly along a rod until the end portions of a plurality of fingers are substantially flush with a flanged element. A handle is then manipulated to lock the double sleeve to the rod, thereby precluding relative motion therebetween. A pointed end then extends beyond the flange and may thus be used to pierce paper on the soft ground surface. After the paper has been retrieved, the pointed end is retracted and the paper is released. In the second mode of operation, the end portions are spread apart. The end portions are then placed over the paper to be retrieved and the handles are moved in relation to each other thereby retracting the spring fingers and bringing a bulge portion into the openings provided in the flange, wherein the end portion of the fingers are moved towards each other into a gripping relation.
Foust discloses a pick-up device which includes a pair of looped gripping fingers for grabbing and releasing objects such as bottles and cans, and which may optionally also include a pointed tool telescopically received within a tubular body. When the pointed tool is in its protracted position, the gripping fingers are in their closed position for gripping an object. Upon pushing a release button the latch fingers are released, thereby retracting the pointed tool and extending or flattening a pair of toggles, thereby opening or separating the gripping fingers to release an object being gripped.
Happ discloses a pick-up device which may be used alternately to stab pieces of paper or to grip cans. The gripping member, however, does not serve to locate and position an item that is to be stabbed by the pointed member.
Moore discloses a hand-held litter retrieving device which provides a choice of three different operating modes. A first mode is provided wherein a bottle or can is gripped by a plurality of spaced fingers. In this first mode a puncturing member is held in a retracted position. In a second mode of operation the device is placed above a piece of litter with the tips of the fingers resting on and holding the litter in place. A detent is then actuated for releasing the litter puncturing member which then drops, thereby driving the puncturing member into the litter. The sole force for driving the puncturing member into the litter is the weight of the puncturing assembly including an elongated reciprocal rod and the puncturing member. In a third mode of operation, the detent is actuated, thereby allowing the puncturing member to fall until the detent engages in a groove. The puncturing member is then held in a position such that it can be impaled upon the litter without having the tips of the fingers touch the litter. Therefore, none of the three modes set forth in Moore disclose a device which operates in as simple and efficient a manner as the subject invention.
Gauntlett discloses a cigarette holder that includes curved guiding jaws and a fixed tick located therebetween. Gauntlett, however, does not disclose a flanged lip formed as an extension along a side of the semi-cylindrical member supporting a piercing element.
Thus, as pointed out above, the prior art devices are of relatively complex construction with a large number of interacting moving components which construction makes these prior art devices expensive to manufacture and which further lends them to mechanical malfunctioning, and expensive preventive maintenance. Still further, the prior art devices are complicated and difficult to operate.